For Erica Pritchett running is a metaphor for life

As Memorial cross country runner Erica Pritchett returns from a particularly hard 20 kilometer weekend training run she appears full of energy, confident and content with where she is headed. This year Pritchett finished her fourth season of varsity competition earning a top ten finish in Atlantic Canada while also working to complete her master's degree in neuromuscular exercise physiology and her third year of medical school. For Pritchett the skills that make her successful in cross-country are the same ones that drive her to achieve academically.

After an adversity-filled 2009 that featured illness and injury, Pritchett hit her stride in 2010 finishing in the top ten in all of Memorial's AUS meets, earning her a place in the CIS Championship in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Pritchett broke the nineteen-minute mark in the five-kilometer distance several times with a season-best time of 18:46 while breaking the tape at October's second annual MUN Run. To provide an indication of just how fast this is, a time of 18:46 commands a blistering pace of 3:45 per kilometer.

What makes Pritchett's performance all the more impressive is what is happening for her away from the sport. She is currently finishing her master's degree in neuromuscular exercise physiology with acclaimed professor Dr. David Behm with Memorial's School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, while simultaneously heading into her fourth year of study in medicine. In recognition of her high academic achievement, Erica was recently named a CIS Academic All Canadian and recipient of the Athletics NorthEAST Running Club Award for Varsity Cross Country.

Balancing the significant demands of academics with running has required an increased focus, personal control, concentration and a commitment to time management.

Pritchett says, "Cross Country demands a tremendous amount of personal discipline and drive to focus and train effectively. It also requires stamina and perseverance. I firmly believe that it is these qualities, which are refined through running, that continue to contribute to my academic success. "

Running has the added benefit of being a freeing escape to recharge the emotional batteries. For Erica this is a great equalizer, " There is no question that a program like medicine is demanding so I also use running as an outlet to stress. There is nothing I would rather do after a long day of academics and clinical medicine than lace up the sneakers and go for a run."

People who are unfamiliar with the sport often make the mistake of assuming that running is an individual pursuit, evoking imagery of a solitary figure running silently on the trail – the lone wolf. However, these wolves travel in packs. For cross-country athletes it is the combination of individual and team that really draws them in.

She says, "I thrive off the team camaraderie. The encouragement on the trails is motivating for the entire team. Though we are all extremely competitive there is a great network of support. When my varsity experience is over it is the people I will remember most. The new friends I have met over the years that share the same interests and lifestyle. Our bond goes beyond running."

Pritchett now has her sights set on working through her medicine degree while maintaining an involvement in athletics for years to come. Based on how far she has come we can be sure that we have not seen her personal best yet.